Monthly Archive January 2012

After a rough start to the game defensively Brand found new life in the 2nd half. He played some solid defense on the likes of Trevor Booker and JaVale McGee inside leading to Wizards turnovers in the second half. He also added a lift on offense going 6-10 from the field for 13 points.

Iguodala had one of his best all-around performances of the season in this game. He had a few highlight reel dunks, he defended well, he rebounded well, and he passed well. Iggy was a huge factor in the third quarter charge which pushed the Sixers lead up to 34 at one point.

Hawes, although limited in this game(19 minutes), still found a way to notch his 5th double-double of the season. Once again “Spencer Hawes” chants showered the Wells Fargo Center when Hawes converted on two and one buckets in the third quarter.

Once again Jodie Meeks gave the Wells Fargo Center crowd an unbelievable shooting performance. 10-11 from the field for 26 points including an outstanding 6-7 from three-point land. Could it be that I was in the building? Last time I was in attendance he hit for 21 against the Pistons, hitting 4-8 from deep. I never called for an encore, but if I did this would be it. He gave fans free Big Macs when he hit a trey to put the Sixers over 100 points in the fourth quarter. The applause was so loud that the roof of the WFC nearly came down.

This wasn’t the best game from Jrue Holiday, but it also wasn’t horrible either. His defense was subpar for most of the game, he was shooting too early on shot clocks, and he wasn’t passing the ball effectively enough. However, he did play better in the second half compared to the start of the game and had a vicious, left-handed throw-down on Jan Vesely in the fourth quarter which should be good enough for the Sportscenter top 10 tonight!

Lou showed his veteran leadership throughout this game and showed why he should always have the ball in the clutch. Lou paced this team to start the game with some nice drives to the basket and some great finds to open shooters. He made the crowd rise at both the end of the second and third quarters after nailing a couple sweet jumpers as time expired.

Tonight wasn’t the best from Thaddeus defensively. Trevor Booker and Rashard Lewis made him look foolish at times and he wasn’t active on the boards at all. Don’t expect this to happen that often in future games.

Evan Turner, SG28 MIN | 4-7 FG | 2-2 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 12 PTS | +7

ET racked up another solid performance. Defensively he played solid and he was very efficient on the offensive end. The former #2 pick outshined the #1 pick from the same draft John Wall and once again showed off his improvements from last season.

It’s worth noting that while Vuc did not fill the stat sheet by any means, his defense on JaVale McGee in the first quarter is what led to the Sixers rally to regain the lead. Hopefully we’ll see this type of energy from him defensively the rest of the year.

Three weeks ago, in the aftermath of Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn’s record-setting 480 yard, 6 touchdown performance, while armchair quarterbacks were anointing him the next big thing and the stat-inclined Internet commentariat was screaming “small sample size!” at the top of their lungs, Matt Verhei of Football Outsiders made a really interesting point: Matt Flynn might not go on to be a great NFL quarterback, but if he doesn’t, it would be a serious surprise.

The nub was this: performances that great rarely, if ever, come from players that aren’t great themselves. According to FO’s math, Flynn’s performance was the 15th best by a quarterback in a single game since 1993. And occupying 10 of the 14 slots ahead of him are games by future Hall of Famers Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Ben Roethlisberger. The worst player on the list, Scott Mitchell, threw for 4300 yards and 32 touchdowns in 1995.

Which brings us, finally, to the Sixers, who, before Wednesday night’s disappointing loss to the Knicks, ran off a stretch that, while not quite Matt Flynn vs. Detroit level dominant, was pretty close.

Overall Brand had a solid night. The NYK bigs present some problems for Brand, but he did a decent job on the defensive end. He also had several very solid weak side help plays. He didn’t shoot the ball all that well, but he put in some big baskets when the 76ers needed them. Despite all the rest he got against the Pacers, EB still looked tired tonight.

To be honest we were disappointed in AI9’s game tonight. He wasn’t horrible, just disappointing. We know he’s not going to shut down Melo, but at times he got simply abused by Anthony. On the offensive end, he waited to long to get going. Everyone in Philadunkia nation saw this as a big game as did all in the Sixers locker room. Your “star” player can not wait until 5 minutes left in the 2nd Q to get on the scoreboard in a “big” game.

Tony Battie, C13 MIN | 3-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 6 PTS | -1

A surprising start led to a decent effort by Battie. Who knew he could still dunk?

Jodie Meeks, G16 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 3 PTS | -14

Do we have enough evidence yet that Meeks is not the answer at the SG spot? You have one job — hit open jumpers! Meeks doesn’t do it enough.

Jrue Holiday, PG 32 MIN | 8-13 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 8 AST | 17 PTS | +22
A rocky night for Jrue as well. He had a few moments of brilliance, but also some very troubling plays. Jrue seemed to have trouble with the pressure applied by Shumpert and Douglas and he settled for too many jumpers in the game. Your starting PG has to get to the FT line, especially when you are trying to claw your way back from a 14 point deficit. To have zero FT attempts for an entire game is unacceptable.

A poor shooting night for Thad resulted from the fact that “yungsmoove” hoisted up too many 14-16 footers. However his energy and defense were great again tonight. His 10 fourth quarter points (including 8 straight) keyed the Sixers 12-2 run and made this game interesting for Philadunkia nation.

Another solid effort from Turner. We could have lived without one or two of his forced mid-range jumpers (especially the bad leaner in the late 3rd), but we’ll consider those as growing pains. We’re not in love with how much Collins is having ET handle the ball. There’s no doubt that Evan Turner can dribble for a player his size, but over the last two games we’ve noticed that he has significant trouble holding on to the rock when he encounters traffic on his way through the lane.

The old war horse, on night two of a back-to-back-to-back, distinguished himself most in the second and third periods, where — with Spencer Hawes hobbled by a back strain — he scored 19 and grabbed 7 rebounds. A sample sequence: after netting layup in traffic, Brand twice consecutively blocked DeMarcus Cousins, then grabbed an o-board on the other end.
After looking sluggish in the (very) early going of the season, Brand is playing—and I mean this in the most complimentary sense—consistent, veteran basketball. Controlled, disciplined, savvy, self-possessed ball. Watching him against Cousins was particularly instructive. While Cousins clearly has better physical skills, Brand was much more economical with his movements, and consistently positioned himself better. Interesting contrast.

Iguodala didn’t fill the stat sheet, but in a blowout, he didn’t have too. He chipped in with his usual stout defense. J ohn Salmons and Tyreke Evans, his charges for most of the night, went 9-23.

Spencer Hawes, C11 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 3 AST | 0 PTS | +2

Hawes had a disappointing evening. Before his second period back strain, which put him out of commission for the rest of the game, he put up a goose egg in the points and rebounds column and got pushed around a little by DeMarcus Cousins. He did, however, get three assists — one of which was a pretty back door pass to Lou Williams.

Jodie Meeks, G29 MIN | 5-9 FG | 1-1 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 14 PTS | +21

The Meeks inherited the earth. Jodie led the charge in the third period, hitting all three of his threes.

Jrue bounced back nicely from his rocky night against the Pacers—where he had two assists against seven turnovers—with a tidy outing, sprinkled with some magic. The magic: in the first period, he picked a pass intended for Travis Outlaw, unleashed a devastating spin move to get around and by him, then finished on the other end with a left-handed dunk.

A sweet performance by Lou. Scored in double digits for the ninth straight contest and, in a reflection of the respect he’s earned from Collins and his teammates, was always the guy with the ball in his hands as the period wound down.

Thad Young is just pure energy coming off the bench. Immediately upon entering the game, he grabbed a board in traffic, kicked it to Williams, sprinted by everybody, then caught a bullet and finished with two hands. Two minutes later, he blew by Francisco Garcia for another bucket. He’s just dangerously explosive. If Iran had Thad Young, we’d probably have to go to war.

Another solid night from the unexpectedly productive rookie. Unlike many Europeans, he can play defense too: he knocked loose a JJ Hickson handle in the first, that jump started a fast break and an easy two.

Brand is slowly becoming a non factor with each passing game. He didn’t produce much offensively and wasn’t involved in the action at all. His defense wasn’t applause worthy. His 5 rebounds spared him from get a failing grade. “Just a guy” would be the proper term based on his performance. His five fouls didn’t help much either.

Iguodala carried the Sixers on a night where he needed to. He didn’t shoot the ball well, despite his improved jump shot, but provided almost everything else. His game is built on penetration, and that was a big lift for his teammates who were set up with scoring opportunities because of it.

Hawes has had a sparkling start to this season but on Monday night, he was outclassed by Roy Hibbert. Hibbert abused him inside and Hawes was not as efficient on the boards and in field goal production. Like Brand, he also ended up with 5 fouls. Getting rejected by Dahntay Jones on a bunny was embarassing as hell.

Holiday had a rough start (again). But, he ended up with a decent game, knocking down some big shots in the 2nd half. It’s obvious Jrue has become comfortable closing out games for the Sixers. Although, so far this season he has not been the floor general that many thought he could be. 2 assists and 7 turnovers is a complete disaster for a starting point guard.

Lou couldn’t guard Darren Collison at all and his nonstop shooting was not so effective on Monday night. But he is always a spark plug and provided tons of energy off the bench. He also came up with some key loose balls and got to the FT line at some important moments in the game.

Young showcased his new found mid-range jumper and continued his solid start to the season. His defense has simply gone to another level — that rejection from behind he had in the 4th was a Lebron-like thing of beauty. Collins had nothing but praise for Thad in the post game presser. He didn’t light the world on fire on offense tonight, but he didn’t make mistakes on a night where his teammates made plenty of them.

Evan Turner, SG19 MIN | 2-3 FG | 1-3 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 5 PTS | -5

Turner didn’t get much playing time and that was probably because he didn’t deserve it. He made some bad decisions with the basketball and that earned him a spot on on the bench for the majority of the game. But man can he rebound.

The Box Score tells the Story. In only 17 minutes Vucevic looked good in the paint, knocked down mid-range jumpers, and even drained a shot from downtown. On defense he looked no worse then Spencer Hawes. The kid is a lot more NBA-ready then many people believed.

After the Jump…Six Things We Saw Tonight

Something pretty obvious occurred to me last night as I watched the Sixers lay their second absolute smackdown in as many nights: Doug Collins can coach.

As in, as of this moment, with Phil Jackson at least temporarily retired, better than anyone in the NBA. After Saturday’s 97-62 thumping, Collins has, in a season and change at the Sixers helm, compiled a 46-43 record — 43-30 in the last 73 games. With all due respect to Greg Popovich, is there anyone in the Association who has done more with less over the last 14 months?

Collins has: (1) Developed Jrue Holiday into a budding All-Star; (2) Rejuvenated Elton Brand; (3) Turned Spencer Hawes into a viable NBA center; (4) Unleashed Thaddeus Young on the world; (5) Helped turn Andre Iguodala from a guy who can’t hit jumpers but takes too many of them into a guy who still can’t hit them but shoots them less.

More importantly, he’s turned the Sixers into the rarest of units in the modern NBA: a team.

The Sixers are home again. The mountains of the west coast are in the rear-view(for now) as the bright lights of City Hall and the skyscrapers of Liberty Place shine in the near-distance of the Wells Fargo Center. The red-seats inside the structure have been unoccupied by Sixers fans since Lou Williams nailed a game winning heave to beat the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the playoffs back on April 24th, 2011.

Since then Josh Harris and the new ownership have arrived and it’s hard not to notice how hard they are working to get Philadelphians to watch this team, to care about this team, and to embrace this team. They’re giving fans new commercials, new ticket prices, and trying to instill a new sense of pride. The best part about it, is that the team has been buying into it all and feeding off of it as much as they can. As Evan Turner put it, “It’s cool to see somebody pushing to grow with you. The new ownership is willing to dig in and grow with us and get more excitement in the arena by getting fans out to the games. They’ve gotten us a better practice facility and when everybody is on the same page and clicking it does wonders for an organization.”

Wonders it has because while most Philadelphians were home unwrapping presents and popping champagne bottles for the holidays, the Sixers were busy out-working opponents and showing the NBA why their team is going to pose problems for teams throughout the league. The “young” Sixers fought their way to a 3-2 record on a tough road trip out west to start this season. Some fans have already taken notice and one can only hope that, that number will grow ten-fold by seasons end.

To be honest this was another poor game in what has been a very weak start to the 2011-12 season for Brand. We’ve known that Brand is not the best interior defender in the world, but now he is struggling on the offensive end as well. Is anyone else worried that these first 6 games are a snapshot of EB’s season and that the condensed 66 game schedule will have a brutal impact on his numbers?

AI9’s nightmare continued in the 1st half and never lifted. After having one of his worst overall games in recent memory against NOH on Wednesday, Dre’s poor play extended into the 1st half tonight as he went 1-3 on FGA, had 4 TOs and got called for a charge when the Sixers had a 5 on 4 half court trip. It didn’t get any better in the second half as he was MIA offensively. On the defensive end he played his usual stellar game, but offensively he was a non-factor again tonight.

Simply amazing AGAIN tonight. Who would have ever thought we would write that line? If he hits that 3PA in the 4th Q, the roof on the WFC would have blown off. With help from Thad, Spence kept the Pistons at arms length in the 3rd Quarter. His hustle and energy was a thing of beauty to watch. The Sixers should sign him to another one year contact after this season is over.

Spence held down the 3rd Q, then #20 took over in the 4th. What a 4th Q by Meeks…17 points — 6 for 7 on FGA and 3 for 4 on 3PA. He was the reason the Sixers were finally able to put away the feisty Pistons. If he had any clue in the 1st Q, he would have hit for 35 and gotten an A+.

After his breakout game of this season against NOH on Wednesday, we expected better things from Jrue tonight. He managed the half court offense well, but that’s all we can really say. So far Jrue seems to be satisfied with getting his points by hoisting up jumpers. We’d like to see him drive to the tin for buckets or penetrate the lane in order to draw defenders and then dish for easy buckets by Sixer bigs.

After another slow start by the first five, LW provided a decent spark during the late first and early second quarter. During this stretch he scored 6 straight points for the Sixers and started to establish a rhythm for Philadunkia’s home team. To be honest though, it was a very quiet 16 points for Louis. He was 0-3 on 3PA and we thought his shot selection tonight left a little to be desired.

The scary part about Thad’s game is that he is providing the same great offensive punch off the bench that he gave us in 2010-11, but as a bonus he seems to have taken his defensive game and rebounding to another level. His energy tonight was simply amazing. Along with Hawes, Thad is the reason the Sixers kept the Pistons at bay during the 3rd Q, before exploding in the 4th and putting Detroit away.

Evan Turner, SG25 MIN | 4-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 8 PTS | +17

A solid game for ET. Coming off his huge night vs. the Hornets, we’d like to have seen more out of him from a scoring standpoint, but his 2nd quarter (6 pts., 6 rips & 2 stls.) kept the Sixers ahead of DET headed into the half. Turner was the boost that helped cover up the slow start by the Sixers and gave them a decent cushion at the half.

Nikola Vucevic, C3 MIN | 3-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 6 PTS | +3

“Big Nik” played decently in garbage time. He did a nice job scoring off the pick-n-roll and there is no doubt he has some offensive game. He will give the Sixers some nice depth as the season rolls along.